Ilana Umansky

Biography

Ilana Umansky's work focuses on quantitative and longitudinal analysis of the educational opportunities and outcomes of immigrant students, emerging bilingual students, and students classified in school as English learners (ELs). She studies key EL policies including identification, service provision, and reclassification, focusing on issues of stratification and opportunity. Her work has explored EL course-taking and access to core academic content, the effects of the EL classification system, teacher perceptions of EL-classified students, and how educational outcomes vary for students in different linguistic instructional environments. She often works in partnership with districts and states including projects with San Francisco Unified, Salem-Keizer School District, the Utah State Board of Education, the Oregon Department of Education, and the Council of Chief State School Officers, as they work to improve educational opportunities for their EL students. Prior to getting her Ph.D. at Stanford University in Sociology of Education and Race, Inequality and Language in Education, Umansky worked in educational equity and quality research in Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, and other countries in Latin America. Her work has been awarded by the National Academy of Education, the Spencer Foundation, the Jacobs Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, and the American Educational Research Association's Bilingual Education Special Interest Group. Her work has been published in the American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Leadership, and Exceptional Children, among other outlets. She frequently also publishes national and state reports and policy briefs aimed at serving and informing educational policymakers.

Education

Ph.D., 2015, Stanford University

Major: Sociology of Education and Race, Inequality, & Language in Education Program

M.A., 2013, Stanford University

Major: Sociology

MEd, 2003, Harvard University

Major: International Education Policy

BA, 1998, Wesleyan University

Major: Sociology

Honors and Awards

2019 National Academy of Education / Spencer Foundation, Research Development Award

Umansky, I. (2018). According to plan?: Examining the intended and unintended treatment effects of EL classification in early elementary and the transition to middle school. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 11(4), 588-621.

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